"Oh, everything's okay." She said, with a small smile. "Just talking to Nikhil here about classes we have together."

"He's the guy to copy off of." Drake said, leaning back and giving a yawn. "Guy's too smart for his own good." He said with a grin. Lightly punching Nikhil in the shoulder, he looked at Audrey. "So I think you're in one of my classes too. Dr. Grant. Biology." He said.

"Yeah, I've seen you in there." She said, nodding.

My family puts the FUN in Dysfunctional!
"You declare War?! I Accept!"~ Crow

Nikhil tried to keep the biting sense of disappointment from taking over. Of course, she would have noticed Drake in one of her classes, but not him in another of them. Made total sense, when you thought about it. Drake was just one of those guys that everyone noticed. Nikhil was...not. He shouldn't be surprised, and it only reinforced that if he couldn't get Audrey to notice that he was even in the classroom, how could he get Rose to notice him as something other than a friend. Apparently he was giving off bad vibes, because both Audrey and Rose looked at him. Telepaths, he remembered.

"You okay?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, though most of the fun that he'd been having that day had pretty much evaporated.

Something was up with Nikhil, but Rose couldn't tell what it was. She watched him for a few moments longer, then turned back to Audrey, who was in a conversation with Drake now, about something. Soccer, that was it. Manchester United and Liverpool. She wasn't that big of a soccer fan, American football was more her style. Well, it was the only sport that she loved with a dying passion. That had been how she'd learned basic arithmetic. Her father had taught her how to do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using touchdowns. A pretty interesting way to teach a kid, but that had been Jason Decker. That hit her with a pang of her own sadness. She missed her parents. Turning back, she looked at Nikhil. "You're sure that everything is okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He repeated. He gave her a smile then, but she wasn't that convinced. Rose knew what his real smiles were like, and that was definitely a fake one. Rose shrugged. If he wasn't going to talk about it, she wasn't going to force him. She knew what that was like, forcing people to do things they didn't want to do.

"Audrey, you know, I heard that they were planning on doing intramurals for the school. Maybe you could talk to Mr. Partridge about soccer. He's British like you, I'm sure he'd be down." She said.

"That would be pretty cool." Audrey said to the other girl. She still wasn't that sure how she felt about Rose but she knew that she wanted to get to know the girl better. There was something about her. Some kind of hidden charisma that others unconsciously picked up on and made them want to be around her. Audrey had picked up on it. Maybe it was because she was a telepath and that had given her the ability to sense it. But there was something about the girl and she wanted to know what it was. Whatever it was, Nikhil liked her and Audrey if she was willing to admit it, found Nikhil attractive and so she wanted to know more.

My family puts the FUN in Dysfunctional!
"You declare War?! I Accept!"~ Crow

IC:
The rest of the trip had passed in quiet. All three of them had tried to sleep, but only the already sleeping kitten had been truly successful. Sleep had come the hardest to Sean, being an elusive thing chased fruitlessly. He’d dozed off here and there, but every time he’d woken up with a start. Laurence had had the second hardest time. He had fond memories of Sean’s parents when he had been growing up, and he sincerely hoped that nothing had happened to them. They had been the ones who had worked on his parents to make sure that he could go to Massachusetts’ Academy in the first place. His parents had been too keen on him leaving, and it had been the Wrights who had discussed it with the Hagues and convinced them.

Life growing up for Laurence hadn’t been the best and he’d been very grateful to leave England. There wasn’t much that he missed about the country. It had been his supreme desire never to return, but he wouldn’t have dared to not stand by his friend in his time of need. They had grown up together, and they would be friends for life.

"Well, we're here." Sean said, hoping that his nerves didn't get the best of them. It was one thing to be in the United States with the news. It was another to be getting into a cab at Heathrow, knowing that he was very close to his parents. It would be an incredibly long car ride, that was true. That was only going to make things worse for him.

"That we are. I just got off the phone with the hospital. They know we're on our way and they're preparing everything for us. I told that it will be a few hours though before we're there." Shane Grammer said.

"Thank you." Sean said. He looked at Laurence, who was somewhat squished in the cab with them. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." Laurence said with a small smile. "A bit tight, but it's okay, mate."

OOC: I would assume by now that the arcade group is back at the school. If you guys wanted to do something there, feel free. Mayhem, Chaos, Alec Jr.

IC:

"Glad everyone is comfy." Grammer said.

The driver of the cab gave him a look. In response, Grammer just told him that they'd liked to get started on the drive. Throughout the long drive, the cab driver continually looked in the rear view mirror and gave the blue skinned and furred man a number of looks. It was nothing that Shane wasn't used to by now. He took it was something that came with the territory, and he just let it go. There was nothing else that he could do about it really. After all, it wasn't this cab driver's fault that he had never see a mutant with his kind of mutation before in his life. he couldn't get mad at the man for being curious. Human beings were, after all, innately curious beings. It just made sense.

It wasn’t everyday that a containment team accompanied a bus to Massachusetts’ Academy. Well, actually it probably happened more often than not. But to the members of the containment team who were on the modified semi that drove up towards Massachusetts’ Academy, there was a mix of emotions. All were happy that the job was done, but some of them were ready to get the hell out of there. The last thing that they wanted was to be surrounded by weird mutants. They weren’t natural. Abberations of nature, and this was definitely not a good use of tax payers money to be going all this way to the school. But they kept their thoughts to themselves, trying to be professional.

Arriving at the front gate, the driver showed his credentials to the computer screen, and then the main gate slid to the side, allowing them to pass. When they reached the front of the school, there were two people standing there, waiting for them. One was a rather attractive Brazilian woman who earned a lot of second looks from the team members that could see her, and the other was a tall man who had a look of deadly seriousness.

Jumping out of the truck, the leader of the team, in black tactical gear walked up to the Brazilian woman with a manila folder in his hands.

“Carl Turpin, ma’am.” He said, extending his hand. Carl was not one of those on the team who was disgusted by the simple fact of being here. He didn’t mind mutants at all. His father’s life had been saved in the Chrell Invasion by Cyclops, a thing that he would never forget. His father had never let him forget it. “We’re here to oversee the transfer of one Jacob Wesley to Massachusets’ Academy. He’s considered dangerous, but that’s because over in Texas we weren’t sure how exactly to deal with his powers.” He said. “From what I understand about mutations, his powers seemed to have developed a little bit later, fifteen, instead of when he hit puberty, but you know, things happen.” He said.

“You seem to be very knowledgeable when it comes to mutations.” Alessandra said with a smile. “My father was a big fan. Fought in the Chrell Invasion. Cyclops saved his life.” Carl said. “Made sure that I wasn’t a bigot.” He added with a small shrug. Turning, he waved a hand towards the semi.

It pulled forward and then turned, backing up towards them. “Forgive the state of Mr. Wesley. I didn’t want to do this, but this was the request from the state of Texas.” He said.

When the semi stopped, the doors opened at the back and lights flickered on inside of the semi’s trailer.

Alec lifted an eyebrow, his only response.

Alessandra walked forward, eliciting a response from Carl, who stepped up after her. “Ma’am, we don’t know exactly what he’s capable of and what his powers set is. I’d ask you to be a little bit more careful.”

“Mr. Turpin, I appreciate the request for restraint. However, if this boy is going to be walking around my school without these shackles that he’s been put in, then he can be a danger to anyone at any time. That’s the point of the school in the first place.” Alessandra said. Looking at the hulking brute that was in front of her. She smiled. “How are you this morning, Mr. Wesley?” She asked.

Jacob Wesley looked at her. He towered over her, over Alec Partridge as well. The Texan looked down at the ground. “I’m a freak, that’s how I feel. I was playing football with my friends and then...then this happened.” He said, trying to move his arms, before the restraints stopped him. “They don’t know what’s wrong with me. I...I killed my best friend. I don’t know how I did it. I think it’s when I tackled him, I...I fell on him, and the weight.” He said.

“It’s okay.” Alessandra said.

“It’s NOT okay!” He roared, shaking the walls of the semi, and causing Carl to reach out for Alessandra’s arm. Carl stopped when he saw Alec step onto the trailer. He’d heard about this guy. “I killed my best friend.” He repeated. “Now, now I look like this.” He said. “Look at me. I’m a freak.”

His body had mutated so that he appeared to be composed of some inorganic rocklike material. He was roughly six feet seven inches tall now, and he was definitely hulking. “I understand the pain.” She said, her voice soothing, as she shifted towards her role as a therapist, and her past a psychiatrist. “I know what you’re going through.”

“You don’t look like me.” He said, his body shaking as tears started to well in his now white eyes.

“That’s true.” She said, reaching a hand out and placing it on his chest. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand. You are not a freak. You are a mutant. There is nothing wrong with that. You didn’t intentionally hurt you friend. Accidents happen. I know you’re sorry that it happened, and I know that you didn’t mean it. Blaming yourself for it, it’s not going to make it better. It’s only going to make it worse.” She said.

“Can you make this go away?” He asked.

“No.” Alessandra said, gently. “However, I can teach you, show you, how to live with the fact that there is no such thing as normal. That we are all unique, and that you are special in this world. Only if you’ll let me. Only if you’ll try.”

“I’ll do my best.” Jacob said. “That’s all I ask.” Alessandra said. “Mr. Turpin, please remove the restraints from Mr. Wesley. He’s not a danger to anyone.” She said and started to walk out of the semi. Sharing a look with Alec, they waited.

The trailer shook as about five hundred pounds of weight moved out of it. The metal of the trailer’s frame gave an audible sigh of relief when Jacob stepped off of it. He looked at the school. “This is a school for mutants?” He asked, and Alessandra nodded. “Everyone here is like me?”

“Not exactly like you, but everyone here is a mutant.”

“Some of them are just stupid.” Alec said. He shrugged when Alessandra gave him a different look than the one she’d given him before. “What, it’s true.”

It was Alec’s turn to be reassuring. “Don’t worry kid, we’ve built the place to be able to handle even the likes of you.” He said. “You should come on inside and take a look around the place. We’ll get you set up in a room, and go from there.” He said. He gestured at the collection of buildings behind him.

Alessandra thanked Carl Turpin and his team, and soon they were off, leaving the three of them standing there.

“I’m...I’m scared.” Jacob said.

“That’s understandable. This is a very new environment for you and it’s not what you’re used to. If you weren’t a little scared, I’d be a little worried.” Alessandra said.

When the car reached it’s destination, Sean was the first out of the car. He was followed by Laurence, and the two took off towards the hospital. This left Grammer with the problem of paying the cab driver and making sure that their luggage was properly handled. In the confusion, Grammer missed the black and white kitten who scampered after Sean. He followed at a much slower pace, dragging their luggage with him. While he only had the two arms, thanks to his mutation, he possessed a much larger amount of strength than the average human male his age, allowing him to better manage the luggage and bring it with him.

Entering the hospital, he coughed loudly, so that the boys would slow down for him. They had been at the main reception desk, asking what room Sean’s parents were in. They saw him and Laurence gave an apologetic smile. Both went for their luggage, having gotten the room number. As he reached down for his backpack, Sean’s eyes widened.

He saw Mara sitting near the backpack. Sparing a glance at Dr. Grammer, he saw that the teacher was busy with looking for an elevator. So Sean unzipped the main part of his backpack, and Mara jumped in. Leaving it cracked open slightly, he watched as her kitten head popped out and looked around. Then he lifted the bag and tossed it on, heading after Laurence and Shane.

Jacob had found his room and had settled in. Sitting on the bed, he looked at the room. It was a nice room, like any other, and the bed was fairly comfortable. Apparently the people at Massachusetts Academy had been given plenty of forewarning about his arrival, because the bed could accommodate his considerable size and weight. That was nice, they were thinking about him and making sure that they had things in place to take care of him. He appreciated that. Fairly excited about being here, it wasn't a normal kind of excitement. For Jacob, he considered himself a freak, an aberration of nature. To be in a place where everyone was like that, it was pretty cool. It took a lot of pressure off of himself and anything that did that was good.

Dr. Santiago had suggested that he walk around the school and get a feel for it, maybe mingle with the rest of the students. While he wasn't sure if he was ready for that, he knew that he had to do it. A part of him felt that it was a good test. After all, if he could start fitting in here, when he wasn't sure about himself, then that was a good thing, wasn't it?

Stepping out of the room, he started to walk around. There were mutants all over the place. Jacob passed by one particular mutant who's apparent power was that their skin looked like it was made out of lizard scales and they had a tail. Now that was pretty interesting, to a kid from Texas. Maybe this place wasn't going to be too creepy after all. Maybe he could fit in.

Walking around a corner, he bumped into a girl that was way, way shorter than he was, and he looked down at her, having accidentally dropped her to the floor. The book that she was reading had fallen next to her.

"I'm so sorry." Jacob said, and bent down to retrieve the book and help her up. "I didn't mean to, I'm really sorry." He said.

“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about.” Thalia said as she dusted herself off. “I know you didn’t mean any harm.” She added, accepting the book back from Jacob. “I can get very wrapped up in my reading, it’s not the first time someone’s bumped into me.” She added, with a slight frown.

“I suppose you should sit down in one place when you read.” Jacob said.

“That might be it. But books transport you to magical places, and sometimes I just can’t sit still when I read them.” She said. She looked up at him. “You’re a new face. I know most of the faces around here.”

“Jacob Weaver.” He replied, shaking her hand. It was easy to see that his hand was twice the size of hers.

“You’re quite big.” She said with a smile.

He couldn’t sense any sarcasm behind it, she was just stating facts. From the looks of it, she was about 5’7” or so and he was a foot taller than she was. This brought a smile to his face. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“You’re also very sad.” She said, reaching a hand out and placing it on his lower chest. “Why is that?” She asked.

“Well, my mutation just appeared a week or so ago. I had a normal life until this happened.” He said, gesturing to himself. He looked down at himself, still a little shocked about everything that happened. And that they'd been able to find clothes that fit him. Probably ordered it from the same place that the NBA players got their stuff.

“I don’t know what you mean by normal.” She said. “My parents and I are vegetarians and we live in harmony with all animals. We lived outside of San Francisco with a lot of space for animals.”

“You’re like a hippie or something?” He asked. “I don’t mean to be rude. I’m from Texas and my parents weren’t the greatest when it came to...you know...exposing their kid to the rest of the world.”

“It’s quite alright.” Thalia said with a smile, as she started walking and Jacob fell in step with her. “We aren’t hippies. Though I have been called that before by some people. But they just didn’t understand. It’s hard sometimes to understand other people when you haven’t lived their life.”

“Yeah.” He said as they came across an alcove. Thalia sat down and Jacob looked around before he sheepishly sat down on the ground. Even there, he was able to almost look her dead in the eye.

“I mean, I’m a practicing Witch.” Thalia said with a warm smile.

You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay

“A practicing what?” He asked, a little incredulous. Who was this girl? Things were taking a turn for the weird now.

“A practicing Witch.” She said. Her brow furrowed. “You’ve never heard of the Wiccan belief?”

“I’m a Christian. Born and raised. Bible thumping parents and everything. Hell has fire and brimstone and if you don't behave that's where you're headed. I think some members of the congregation are still in shock about my mutation.” He said. Then abruptly he looked at her, confused. “Doesn’t that make you like...” He said and trailed off.

“A devil worshipper?” She asked, and a smile cracked over her face. “No. Wiccans do not worship the devil at all.” Thalia lifted a finger. “A common misconception, I’m afraid. People always jump to that when they hear about my powers and my religion.”

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude or anything.” He said. “This whole thing has been a crazy rush for me.” Jacob said. “I feel...I feel...”

“Alone. Trapped. Unsure of what’s going on around you.” She said. When he nodded and gave her a look of mild shock, Thalia laughed. It was a full, rich laugh. She looked down at the book that was in her hands. It was a Shel Silverstein book of poetry. “My powers are empathy based. I can sense the emotions and feelings of everyone around me. It’s a constant thing, it’s always on. I can’t stop it.”

Her eyes became unfocused for a moment, as she felt a twinge of anger coming in the distance. From the direction, she could only guess that it was probably Nikhil and Drake having another argument in their room. The two roomates constantly butted heads. Thank heavens that Rose was able to keep them from actually fighting.

Rose was good at that, being a peacemaker. But she had her own stubborn streak, her own streak for trouble. When Rose got in trouble, those two were definitely not far behind. Her eyes snapped back to the here and now, to where she was. She saw that she was neglecting her conversational partner.

“That’s pretty intense.” Jacob was saying.

“Yes, yes it is. Tiring as well.”

You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay

“I’m lucky, I guess.” Jacob said, the Texan twang coming out of his voice a bit. “I mean, I only have my appearance to worry about.” He said. “You seem like you got the raw end of the stick.”

“How do you figure?” She asked.

He leaned against the wall, letting his legs stick out. Jacob watched as some students passed them by, everyone going about their evening. So many people and Thalia could feel all of it? It seemed way too much for one person to handle, to want to handle. “You’ve got to be constantly bombarded by everyone’s feelings? People have some shitty feelings sometimes, you know?” There was a shake of his head. “I’d hate it, to be honest.”

“I love it.” She said. “People are shitty, yes. But at the same time people have beautiful thoughts. The not so shiny thoughts, those are the ones that weave in and out of the tapestry and make it even more beautiful, to me. The feelings and emotions can be hurtful, but at the same time, it’s part of what makes us human.”

“I think I know what you mean.” He said.

Thalia rose and handed him the book. “Here, read this. I think you’ll better understand what I mean after you’re done. I’ll see you around, Jacob Weaver.” She said.

Then she was gone.

You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay

When they reached the proper floor, once again, the boys were out of the elevator first, and running down the hallway. Shane had to struggle to keep up, and he fell somewhat behind, not able to dodge as well as the boys. While his mutation would have allowed him to, he didn’t want to cause a panic, as there was now a blue, furred mutant moving through the hallway of the hospital. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause a problem of some sort.

Mara’s eyes bulged as she bounced along in the backpack, wondering just what in the hell was going on.

Laurence stopped Sean just as they reached the door. “What?” Sean asked.

“Just...before we go in there, I want to make sure that you’re ready for this.”

“Course, I’m bloody ready, let me in.” He said and tried to muscle past him, his face one of confusion.

“I’m trying to make sure.” Laurence said. “Sean.” He said, and the usage of the name slowed the other down. “Just...I want you to know that I’ve got your back.” The ginger haired kid said.

Sean had to smile at that. “I appreciate that mate, I do. It means a lot to me that you’re here.” He said. Then Laurence took a step back and Sean was able to walk into the room. His parents were in there, both of them hooked up to a big jumble of machines. He didn’t know what exactly was going on, but they were both asleep, and they looked peaceful while they were doing it. Like nothing was wrong. Both of them had heavy lacerations to the face, which Sean had to guess had come from the accident. Besides that though, they looked like he always remembered them. His mother, not a hair out of place. His father, even in sleep, somehow a mild smile on his face.

He turned when Dr. Grammer walked into the room.

“How are they?” Shane asked, gently. He knew that this could be a bit of a big moment for Sean and he didn't want to push the boy more than he needed to. But he understood getting the first gut reactions since they were very important, especially in the mind of an adolescent.

“They’re good, Dr. Grammer.” Sean said. “I don’t know what I expected, but this, this is better than that.” He said.

“Well, I’ll fetch the doctor, and we’ll see what we can find out.” Shane replied. The English boy smiled and nodded.

You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay

The doctors told them that his parents had been in an accident, a car accident, with big semi. They’d been rescued, though the car had been totaled. Now, they were in intensive care, but it looked like they were going to be okay, despite the seriousness of the injuries. Thankfully, the darkest time had been over, they’d made it past that. Now it was simple a matter of letting them rest and recuperate. The only serious problem was that Sean’s mother was in a coma, and that was always a tricky subject. His father hadn’t taken that much of the hit when the car accident had occurred.

Sean sat in the hospital’s lobby now, with Laurence. He watched as Dr. Grammer made sure that the hospital had their contact information in case they needed to be reached concerning the parents. He was sure that everything was going to be okay with his parents. Turning, he looked at Laurence.

“Have you been in touch with your parents?” He asked.

“They’re on holiday.” He said. “Greece. Not going to come back for me.” Laurence replied. “Not surprised, honestly.”

“Yeah, they’ve always been a bit harsh.” Sean said, reaching a hand out and clapping it on his friend’s shoulder. “Think of it this way, soon, my dad’s going to be up and at it again. We can have a grill out in my backyard like we used to.” He said.

“She’s not a cat. She’s a girl.” Sean said, looking at his friend a bit cross. “You’ve got any crisps on you or something?” He asked.

“No. Vending machine’s over there.” Laurence said and got up, heading over to the machine. He deposited a pound note and then stood there for a moment. “Oi, what the hell do you buy a cat?” He asked.

“She’s not a cat, she’s a-Whoa!” Sean said.

Mara leapt out of the bag and mid jump, started to shift. Soon, the young girl was visible. She smoothed her clothes for a moment and then looked at Laurence with a glare. “Chips, please.” She asked. “Regular. Quite particular.” She said. Turning back, she looked at Sean, her eyes carrying sadness. “I’m glad your parents are going to be alright.” Mara said, her American accent a difference for the boys.

“Me too. Thanks, Mara.” Sean said with a genuine smile. He looked to his left. “Quick, Dr. Grammer is coming.” He said.

“Yes, yes.” Grammer said. “I think we should head to your house, Sean. Is that okay? Visiting hours are almost over, that’s why.” He said. “Besides, I think we all could use a good meal and some sleep.” He said.

Hearing Grammer talk about food reminded Sean of Mara. As much as he wanted to stay at the hospital and stay with his parents, he understood that there wasn’t that much that he could do. Also, the hospital was going to ask them to leave soon anyway. It made sense to go. He had other people to think about. With a nod, he rose, zipping up his backpack. “We should head to the house. I’ve still got keys.” He said with a smile.

When they got to the house, they found that everything was still in order. The key worked, and both Sean and Laurence had smiles on their faces when they got into the house. It had been a few months since they had been there, and Sean moved through the house with familiar ease. He looked at Grammer. “So, what are you interested in having, Dr. Grammer?” He asked.

“You can’t cook.” Laurence said with a smirk.

“But I know how to order. Take home trays are the best ever.” Sean said with a smile.

“Surprise me, boys.” Shane said. “Do you have a guest bedroom?” He asked. “That’s where I’ll sleep for the night.” He said.

Sean nodded, and Laurence started walking, knowing the layout of the house just as well as Sean did.

Some time later, Shane was sitting in the living room of the house, watching the news. It was something to keep his mind occupied, something to keep him from thinking about what was going on. The boys were asleep. Sean had finally succumbed to the pressure of everything going on around him, and Laurence had quickly followed. Mara was in the room too, sleeping on a blanket that Sean had tried to keep inconspicuous. But Grammer had realized that the one who seemed like the leader of the Martin triplets had been along with them on the ride a while ago. She was good though, he had to say that. He was waiting, and when his cell phone rang, he thanked the heavens that he had remembered to put it on vibrate so as not to wake the boys.

“This is Dr. Grammer.” He said, answering the phone.

“Dr. Grammer, this is Dr. Elijah Woodsley from the hospital.”

“I was wondering when you were going to call.” Shane said, rising. The blue furred man ran a hand through the furry hair that he had and sighed. “This is something that I should hear in person. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Sean had located the keys to his family’s other car within minutes of getting into the house, and now Shane clutched them as he got into the car. The drive wasn’t that long, and he tried to marshal his thoughts as he drove. When he got there, he found that Dr. Woodsley was waiting for him in the Wright’s hospital room.

“You didn’t tell them anything?” Dr. Woodsley asked.

“I know what the machines look like. The boys didn’t. I didn’t want to upset Sean, which is why I figured you had lied to him when you came and spoke to us. Since the ruse was important to you, I wasn’t going to disrupt it before I had a chance to speak with you privately.”

Woodsley, a middle aged man nodded slowly. He looked at the patients under his care and then back at Grammer. “She’s brain dead. She’s not in a coma. It’s far worse than that.” He said. “There’s nothing that we can do for her.” He said. “Her husband is actually recovering well, but he’s under heavy sedation right now.”

“Why is that?” Shane asked, his brow furrowing.

“When he came to, we explained everything that had happened. He...he lost it.” Elijah replied. “He tried to disconnect his wife from the life support, and he tried to kill himself. We...We weren’t sure when you all would arrive, and we didn’t want to upset Sean. His parents, they’re influential in the community. My father was the one who delivered Sean. And Laurence, actually.” He said. “We know the family very well.”

“He’s in another country, thousands of miles away and in a new school, the last thing he needs...” Shane said and trailed off.

“Exactly.” Elijah said. “Let’s grab a coffee and I’ll run a few ideas by you regarding how I thought we could handle this.” He asked. “I hate being in this room sometimes. They were so vibrant, so full of life. To see them like this, it hurts.” He said, starting to walk out. “I can only imagine what Sean is going through.”

You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay

Laurence rolled over in his bunk bed. He’d come over to the Wright’s house so much that they’d just went and purchased a bunk bed for Sean and Laurence so that the two best friends could hang out and as much as they wanted.

“Aye, you awake?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Sean said. “Thinking about everything.” He said.

“Right.” Laurence said. “They seemed peaceful.” He added, after a moment, trying to be encouraging. “You know, like they were just asleep, that’s all.”

“I know. They didn’t look that bad.” Sean replied. “Who knows when they’ll be better though.” He said. He stared up at the frame around him. “I think we should go out.” He said.

“Totally.” Laurence said. “I can call up some of the old people, see what’s going on.” He said with a smile and started to get out of bed.

“Are you two out of your minds?” Mara asked, appearing.

“Oi!” Laurence said, jumping back under the covers. Clearly he had forgotten that she was in the room with them. His face was sheepish, when she affixed him with a look. “I don’t sleep with much on.” He said. “You’re not supposed to be all girl like in here.” His voice accusing.

“That’s a bit hard for me to do, Laurence, seeing as I’m a girl.” She said, with a sniff. “Now, Dr. Grammer left about thirty minutes ago-”

“Perfect.” Both boys said in unison.

“-and I’m fairly certain that he did not want us to leave the house without telling him or to go anywhere without being chaperoned. We’re his responsibility while we’re here.” She said.

“Mara...Mara Mara Mara.” Laurence said, sliding out of the bed and grabbing the covers with him, so that he was swaddled and looked absolutely ridiculous. “Rationalizing this with you seems like a difficult job.” He said. He turned and bowed to Sean. “I leave her, in your capable hands.” He said and turned, with regal dignity as he walked out of the room.

“This is irresponsible.” Mara said, giving Sean a look. “I would have thought you wouldn’t be behind something like this.”

The disappointment in her eyes was visible. He looked past it and shrugged. “What’s life without adventure, Mara?” He asked.

“Safe.” She replied, with surety in her voice. It sounded like there was going to be no chance of arguing with her. She watched as he swallowed, readying some kind of response to what she was saying. She decided to cut him off then and there. “Where we’re not breaking the rules.” She said, reinforcing the idea of the rules being so very important.

Sean was saved by saying something in response because Lawrence chose that moment to poke his head around the corner. “She sorted out yet?” He asked, and when Mara glared at him, his eyes widened and then he disappeared. “I called people.” He added, raising his voice a bit. “Can’t stop it. Roll with it, Mara.”

“Roll with it?” Sean asked, trying with a smile.

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. “Okay. But promise me we’ll be careful?” She asked. When he nodded, she tried to summon a smile. “Alright then.”

You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay

Dr. Woodsley and Dr. Grammer were sitting in one of the hospital’s late night cafeterias. It was used more by the staff when they worked their overnight shifts. Usually non-staff members weren’t in the cafeteria, at least not at this time of the night. But this was a special case. Shane was a little surprised at how many people came up to him to ask about Sean and Laurence. Apparently Sean’s family had been very prominent in the community. Not famous, but just well loved by everyone around them. It made understanding Laurence’s life that much more difficult. Why his parents didn’t seem to care about him, when next door was the Wright family was interesting. He didn’t have the time to dedicate any energy to it at the moment, but he tabled it to think about later. At least the two boys had each other. It seemed as if they were inseparable and everyone needed friends.

He and Dr. Woodsley were interrupted in their talk though, when a nurse ran into the room.

Her eyes wide, she blurted out that Sean’s father had come to again. Woodsley was up on his feet and moving as soon as the words had left her mouth. Shane followed suit, but he was able to move faster and better than Woodsley, thanks to his mutation. The blue furred man reached the room first and looked in. His eyes closed and he took a few steps back, covering his mouth with his hand.

When Woodsley came around the corner, he waved the man off.

“He lost his mind.” He said. “I don’t understand it.” He said. “It doesn’t...” Shane said and trailed off. “I...” He said and then looked at Woodsley.

“Oh my God.” Elijah Woodsley said, when he finally saw the scene. “This is wrong.” He added, dry heaving. “I’ve seen a lot, but this is-”

Sean, Laurence, and Mara were walking the streets of Essex late at night. It was great to be home and if he could add it in there, it was great that Mara was there with them. He liked her and she was pretty cool to be around, though she tended to be very rules oriented a lot of the time. Still, it was a good night to be out, the weather was great, and he was pretty happy to be back in his old town. Even Laurence had a smile on his face and he was usually pretty down about things. The three kept walking through the streets, heading to a park near where Sean and Laurence lived. It had been one of the most favored hangouts of Sean, Laurence, and their small group. The police tended to not come around the park that often, which meant that you could get away with a lot more stuff there.

Perfect for a group of young kids.

“Well, well if it isn’t Sean Wright and Laurence Hague.” A voice said.

Sean turned and saw one of his best mates, Matthew Castor. They’d all gone to school together since as far back as Sean and Laurence could remember. Tight hugs went around and then Sean introduced Matthew to Mara.

“How’s everything been?”

“Same old, as always. Nothing changes, you know how it goes. Place has kinda gone to the pits. Not that it was all posh before, but you know. What about you lot? How’s the colonies?” He asked.

“We aren not the colonies.” Mara said in reply.

“Easy, Mara. He’s just trying to get a rise.” Sean said, lightly punching Castor in the arm, who smiled.

“Like the boy said, me ma’am. Just trying to get a rise.” Matthew said, the smile widening.

You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay

Matthew tossed an arm around Mara as they started walking. “I don’t know about that. But I can get you some mean fish and chips round these parts, love. You’ll die for it, promise.” He said.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Alessandra nudged Alec Jr. with one of her feet. The sleeping dog whined and muttered something, but stayed sleeping. “Você é um saco de ossos preguiçosos” She said, as Alec walked into the room. With a fresh target, the Brazilian woman turned on him. “You’ve turned my dog into a big bag of lazy bones like you.” She said. "He just wants to sleep."

“First off, he's a bulldog. He's going to sleep a lot anyway. Second off, I’m not lazy.” He replied. He plopped down on the couch next to her. “I just finished changing the fire alarms in the science building after that fire powers kid set them off accidentally. I didn't get too angry with him, it wasn't his fault, he had an accident. Though, he is in your mutations class, so you'd think he'd have gotten a better control over his powers by now." He said and ignored the pointed look that she gave him. "Anyway, I went with a more resilient model. I think they should last a week.” He said. “Why am I here, anyway?” He asked. “You texted me and said it was urgent.”

“Can’t open the jar.” She said, handing him a glass jar of something or other.

“You’re a telekinetic.” He said, with a look of disbelief at her. “You can open anything.” He added throwing his arms up in exasperation.

“Tired.” She said, not bothering to tell him that he looked so amusing when he was annoyed. Probably one of the reasons why she tried to annoy him so much. But then again, he did it to her, the insufferable man, so it was all fair for her to do it back to him. “Honestly, it's easier to call you, and you're not really that busy. Changing fire alarms, probably taking a nap.” Alee said with a a shrug. She turned and gave him a look, while batting her eyelids at him. “You know you love me.” She said.

“Now who’s lazy?” He asked, as he grabbed the jar from her and her cell phone rang.

“Dr. Grammer.” She said with a smile, as she answered the phone. “How is everything?” She asked.

“Not so great.” He said. “We’ve got a big problem.” He said and started to explain.

Mara watched as the group reached some kind of all night food place. This was very weird for her. Normally at least one of her sisters was always with her, or close by. This one time was the first time that he had really been by herself and that made her stay closer to Sean. She watched as the three boys dug in their pockets for money. She didn’t have anything on her, so Sean just smiled and paid for her, making her blush a little. But the smells of the place had ben enough to keep her mind off of that. One thing that the Martin triplets had was excellent senses, and this place smelled amazing. Her eyes lit up when she saw the tray of fish and chips for the first time.

“That smells amazing.”

“Course it does.” Matthew said with a smile. “Colonies don’t know how to make it right.” He said. “How is America boys?” He asked.

“Pretty good.” Sean said with a nod.

“Everything is bigger.” Laurence said, getting another nod from Sean as he agreed. “No particular reason either.” He said with a shrug.

“Everything is rather closely packed together here.” Mara admitted.

“Well, we are on a bloody island.” Matthew replied, before his phone rang. “That should be it. Pack it in, don’t have all night now do we?” He said, before answering the phone.

You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay

When they reached their destination, Laurence had a big smile on his face. He’d known that he’d been homesick, but it hadn’t really hit him that hard until he’d actually come home. Now, being back home, everything hit him full in the face. The people’s voices were the same as his. The slang and the lingo was the same as what he knew and had grown up with. Laurence just felt comfortable here. They were headed to an old house that had been abandoned for a while. A known hangout for the kids in the area, they didn’t do enough to attract the attention of the police. It wasn’t as well used as the park, but it gave them the ability to have parties that were a bit harder to break up.

As they walked towards the house, the group saw that there was some kind of gathering across the street. Something was going on, but it was difficult to see just what. A lot of cars were in that house’s parking lot.

“Some kind of party?” Laurence asked.

“I guess. Middle of the week though, so that’s kind of odd.” Matthew replied. “Anyway, let’s get this thing started.”

As parties went, it wasn’t that bad. Mara found herself enjoying the music which, she was told, was made by a guy called Dizzee Rascal. That was a funny name, but she kept that to herself, since it appeared that some of the people there thought of him with high regard. She found the people to be interesting, though she tried to stick close to Sean and Laurence whenever she could. It was strange, because everyone there knew that Sean and Laurence were mutants and had powers. No one seemed to care. No one thought differently of the two of them. It was very different than what it was like in America.

She remembered how her adopted parents had worried about their children’s safety when they had found out that the triplets were mutants. America the land of the free and the home of the brave, her father had said, with a scowl on his face. But it feared what it didn’t understand. Something that didn’t make sense, since mutants had been around for years.

It reminded Mara about how much she missed her parents, Peay and Paul.

“Why the long face?” Laurence asked, coming up to her with two plastic cups of something, jarring her from her thoughts in the process. “It’s a party.” He said. “Like, the opposite of your face, do it right now.”

Mara smirked and stuck her tongue out at him, a move that would have been more at home coming from her identical sister, Samantha.

“I suppose that would work as a means to solving the problem.” Grammer said. “I’m just not sure if that is something that I can agree with.”

“It’s the easiest and best solution for the problem.” Alessandra replied over the phone.

“Easiest? Yes. Best? Debatable.” The man replied. “But it seems as though it’s our only option.” He said. “I’ll call you in a few hours to let you know what’s going on in regards to everything. Have a good night, Alessandra.”

“Sleep well, Shane.” She replied, before they hung up.

It was time to go back to Sean Wright’s home to have a talk with the boy. Laurence too, since that boy was now Sean’s only real family. Interesting, considering that now the roles were reversed. Laurence had always been a member of Sean’s family, and now Laurence was going to be all that Sean really had.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The two boys in question were singing. Loudly.

Mara watched, her eyes wide in rapt attention as the two boys sang some song about soccer. Or football. Or whatever it was. She just sat and watched and listened to how horribly off key they were. not that it seemed to bother them, no. They were in their element, in their moment and they were enjoying every second of it. She couldn’t blame them. these were friends that they hadn’t sen in a while, so she could understand that. She would be ecstatic too if she were able to see her parents.

Rising, she headed out of the room and the house, giving Sean a smile and a shake of her head, when he indicated that she should join them.

Getting out of the house, the cool air of the outside hit her, and she smiled at that. She liked the outside. On a night like this, with all the stars in the sky, it was so pretty. Looking up, she started to walk a bit, not noticing where she was going. The gathering on the other side of the house was fairly large as well, but there wasn’t nearly as much noise as was coming from the house that she had just exited from.

Probably some adults having a nice little get together or something like that.

As it turned out they were not having a nice little get together. Quite the opposite actually.

“Did you know that Royce is a mutant?” One of the people in the house asked out loud.

“Royce, the man who moved in a few blocks away?” Another man asked.

The first adult nodded. “Not just that, but he’s gay. A homosexual. He has a partner, who’s from Brixton. He’s probably a mutant too.”

It was hard to tell which word had more bite to it, “homosexual” or “mutant”. Probably the latter of the two.

“Oh, and he seemed so nice.” A woman said, drinking from her cup of tea. “He had his sister’s children over and Mary and Susan were there playing with them. I’ll have to put a stop to that.” She said, the last part with a sad shake of her head.

“Probably have to get them checked to make sure that they didn’t pick up any diseases.” The first person said.

“What is the world coming to?” The woman asked, with a sigh. She took another sip from her tea, and leaned back in her chair.

They were a group of people who met once a month to talk about politics and the goings on of the commonwealth. One of the biggest problems that they thought faced the country was the stench of mutants. It was just unnatural, like the thousands of foreigners who immigrated to England every year. Arabs and what not.

The men were nursing alcohol of various types, the women were drinking tea. They came from different walks of life and different livelihoods, but if there was one thing that united this group, it was that all of them were homo sapiens, and all of them hated homo superior.

So when one of them was looking out of the window and happened to see young Mara Martin walking along, they immediately decided to send someone to investigate. After all, it was late at night, and young teenagers should be at home by now, not walking around without an adult to make sure that they didn’t get into trouble or something happened to them. That was not the proper way to be doing things, not at all.

---------

Shane reached the house after getting off the phone with Alessandra’s contact. Everything was arranged and he found the person to be very professional. Her name was Katherine Shaw and she ran a research center in Scotland. He’d heard of her and he’d read her work in genetics in the past. Very competent and very cut and dry. While she hadn’t understood the full reasoning as to why Alessandra and Shane had wanted, she had been open to it and had gone along with it.

Entering the house, he found it to be quiet, which was good. The two kids should be asleep. Though he was tired, he figured it was worth it to check on them and make sure that they were okay.

When he entered the bedroom and found it empty, his mouth thinned into a frown.

Mara’s eyes went wide as the door to the house opened and adults started streaming out of the place. Well this was odd. They appeared to be coming over towards-

Oh, damn. They were coming towards her. Deciding that this was not a good time to transform into a cat, she tried a big smile.

“It’s late out, dearie.” One of the women said. “Shouldn’t you be at home, sleeping?” She asked.

“I was...was here at the party.” Mara said, vaguely pointing at the house down the street. She gave a half turn and looked at it. “Not the greatest defense of my behavior, the music, I understand that.” It was interesting. Usually Sam was the one who got in trouble like this. Mara was the straight and narrow child out of the triplets and when Sam got into trouble, Mara was the one who worked to bail her out. So who was going to bail her out?

“You’re American.” One of the women said and Mara nodded.

“Yes, I am.” She said.

“Why are you here?” Another asked. “Did you just move to the neighborhood?” He asked.

“Um, well, no, I didn’t.” Mara said. “I’m just visiting, and the people I’m here with wanted to come to this party and-”

“Not very responsible.” The woman from before said.

“Right. Well, I guess I’ll be headed back now.” She said, and turned to see Sean and Laurence coming out of the house, looking for her. She waved and tried to smile.

“Are you sure, dear?” One of the women asked. “We can probably get you a ride home to wherever it is that you’re staying.” She said. “I wouldn’t want to be at a party like that, it’s too...improper.” She managed to finish, almost choking on the words, as Sean and Laurence reached her.

“Everything okay?” Sean asked, his eyes moving between the group and Mara. He could see that she wasn't very comfortable in the situation that she found herself in.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Mara said.

“You ready to go?” Laurence asked, picking up on it too, and when Mara nodded, he turned to the group. “Well, nice meeting you, have a good one.” He said.

When the trio turned to go, one woman reached out and grabbed Mara’s arm. Mara didn’t hear what the woman was saying, something about date rape and drugs and alcohol. She just reacted, instinctively. Blossoming from her hand and arm, her powers were on full display. The member of the Martin triplets who always seemed like she was in charge could generate an inorganic material, a crystalline armor of sorts, that looked like it was jade.

Her sister Minnie had called her Skywalker for weeks after she’d been reading some Star Wars books, and Mara hadn’t understood what her sister had meant. At all. But she knew what her powers could do, and she was really not happy that the uncertainty of the situation had caused them to flare up.